


Little Blade

by deathwailart



Series: Codexes: Dragon Age [2]
Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: Character Study, Codex - Freeform, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-17
Updated: 2014-08-17
Packaged: 2018-02-13 13:05:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 631
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2151777
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deathwailart/pseuds/deathwailart
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Damhnait Mahariel; rogue: duel weapons, archery, ranger</p>
            </blockquote>





	Little Blade

Who would’ve thought we’d be calling an elf the Hero of Ferelden, let alone a Dalish.  Bloody Ferelden dog lords.  They say she has a knife in every pocket, I don’t doubt that for a moment, not a Dalish after what happened back when the Dales still existed and with the stories you hear from near where they’ve made their camps.  We cannot trust a crown that has decided to hand over land so freely; just because she is their hero does not mean we forget the past.  What happens if, or should I say _when_ , the rest of them get ideas?

But as to your request, it took some doing but I did learn more of this Damhnait Mahariel.  Her Vallaslin - you know, those odd tattoos on their faces? - is for Falon’Din, the God of Death and Fortune, rather fitting, don’t you agree?  By all accounts she’s a pretty thing, small and slander, long dark hair she always wears in braids but her eyes are usually very hard, full of something that everyone has described as making them uncomfortable.  A mouth that doesn’t know how to do much more than snarl or laugh in the heat of battle.  Her armour is always Dalish, always.  Rarely wears boots; you’ll recall she turned up to the royal coronation and her own presentation as Hero barefoot.  Her bow bears carvings covering every inch of it, likely elven but so little is known that they couldn’t say if they’re of her own design or if the bow came to her that way (I lean towards the latter personally) or if they’re a prayer or some sort of invocation.  If she was a hunter before a Grey Warden like so many say then finding her might be more difficult than previously assumed.  For all we know she’s in the forests and we’ve tripped over her without realising.  She’s got that mabari still but she had wolves, bears, even _spiders_ with her during her travels.

Not that she’d have much to say to us even if we were to find her.  By all accounts she was impertinent to the ‘shemlen’ most of all but there are stories about her dealings with the dwarves (it’s staggering to think she helped decide the rule not just in Ferelden but in Orzammar as well, are we completely sure there is not some latent magic at work with this one, I did hear a tale that her father was a Keeper for their clan once) and even with the city elves. 

There must be a stubborn streak in her though, or that communal spirit that stops the dog lords from reverting to their squabbling clannish ways.  She did a lot of good.  Ensured stability with Anora on the throne though I’m not sure what to make of the Theirin bastard, or the role of the Guerrins in all this though they surely must owe her a debt of gratitude after the debacle at Redcliffe.  She slew Loghain before the assembled court when she won the Landsmeet.  Orzammar came to the aid of the country through her intervention.  She brought the Dalish with her.  Brought Mages from the Circle.  Numerous other accounts speak of her resilience even in the face of horrors I can scarcely fathom.  She didn’t have to help anyone much, some are quick to say, but she did so.  I did hear that she’d speak up for the elves even if she never considered them to be her kin.

I’ve attached a few extra notes, including some sketches of the Vallaslin on the off chance it might prove useful, I look forward to returning home to a civilised society with food that doesn’t taste of boiled leather!

—A letter found on an unknown corpse, addressed only to Nightingale.

**Author's Note:**

> Written for elf week at peopleofthedas on tumblr.
> 
> Available in [tumblr flavour](http://bansheesquad.tumblr.com/post/94531290784/damhnait-mahariel-rogue-duel-weapons-archery) with graphic.


End file.
